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Blogging the future

Scientists at Delft University in the Netherlands have developed a self-healing polymeric material that is both reusable and durable, and can be our solution to make regular plastic bags obsolete. CB26KJW2DS54 Y23HY9RTZ79W

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Most people are aware of the ongoing crisis with plastic bag build up all over the world. Plastic is one of the hardest materials to recycle, and is not easily biodegradable. The average plastic bag has a lifespan of 20 minutes, before it is thrown away. This massive build up has had a negative effect on the environment, but in the future this will change.

Ever since the mass usage of plastic bags became an environmental problem, many stores have come up with some helpful solutions. Green-wise is a shopping bag that does not rip, and can be used over and over again, unlike those flimsy, thin plastic shopping bags that often break after the first use. Along with Greenwise bags, some superstores are giving consumers the choice to use paper bags as well.

A team of scientists at the Delft Centre for Materials, at Delft University of Technology in the Netherlands, led by co-chairman Sybrand van der Zwaag, have developed a thermally self-healing polymeric material which is made by using a simple and efficient processing method. This material can be reused countless times, and can save millions of tons of waste each year. This new type of plastic is hard, and allows ground up post consumer pellets of their invention to be turned into “virgin” materials at a higher temperature.

This material is an innovative way of solving the world’s waste problems, as it will allow for products to be easily recycled and reused.

More Info:

• http://www.selfhealingmaterials.nl/

Imagine watching your favorite TV show from your living room sofa undisturbed while someone right beside you listens to their favorite song play on the stereo. The development of such a device that would allow us to do this was practically unimaginable only a decade ago. However, we may all have the privilege of owning such a device in the near future.

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In the late 19^th century, when Thomas Edison invented the phonograph, projecting recorded sounds was a byproduct of his efforts to “play back” recorded telegraph messages and to automate speech sounds for transmission by telephone. Certainly, he could have never imagined the extent of the evolution of his and his successors’ technologies. Today, we not only have the means of projecting sound, but we now have the capability of directing or “aiming” sound to a specific point.

There is a revolutionary technology, created by researcher Joe Pompei of MIT, where sound is focused to target a specific area. Pompei’s “Audio Spotlight” was no mistake either. Joe explained where his inspiration came from, “I started to become interested in really what the shortcomings of traditional loudspeakers were.”

Traditional speakers transmit non-directed sound at wavelengths of several feet. Pompei’s Audio Spotlight transmits millimeter-sized, ultrasonic waves in a very narrow beam of sound, which becomes audible as it travels through the air. Essentially, Joe has figured out a way to use ultrasound that “excites” the air and causes sound to be made “in midair.”

These new waves can travel much further, and more focused, than normal sound waves.  The signal processor/amplifier are integrated into a system about the size of a traditional audio amplifier, and they use about the same amount of power as well.

Pompei has founded the company, “Holosonics” in which he sells the Audio Spotlight. “Environments that need ’sound without noise’ are our workhorse application: museums, corporate visitor centers, event or gallery installations and retail sales displays. But our ultimate destination for Audio Spotlight’s is the home.” Look out for the Audio Spotlight as it may be on store shelves sooner than expected.

More Info:

• http://www.holosonics.com/
• http://web.mit.edu/
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o-aLJ4Kjm3A

Swedish designer Camilla Diedrich has found a way to combine wallpaper with electric lights in order to create a fashionable and innovative way of illuminating a room. By incorporating fiber optics into wallpaper, Diedrich delivers a beautiful and interesting way of brightening our homes in a way never thought possible.

Wallpaper and illumination systems allow us to decorate our homes with plenty of space to express our inner designer. Today however, thanks to optic fibers we can integrate the two together.

In 1879 the era of artificial lighting was born under Thomas Edison. Not only was the first prototype of a lamp and an incandescent light bulb created, but also the acceleration of an entire industrial sector. Very few people remember that optic fibers are contemporary to the light bulb, and that significant progresses in the field were only starting to be made in the 1960’s. In reality, the optic fibers are very efficient conductors of electricity, and in this case, also a potential lighting alternative.

Nature Ray Charles is special wallpaper that entwines strings of optic fiber in a luminescent flower pattern, giving the room a truly amazing look. The Swedish designer, Camilla Dietrich, idealized the concept with the intent to find an innovative way to illuminate any room without having to use electrical lighting methods. The Swedish stylists are committed to rendering the design accessible to the public.

Imagine what type of scenarios we would be able to surround ourselves with if this optic fiber was powered by solar energy and sold at a cheaper price. The price of this wallpaper is still too high to be considered a product entering the mass-market, but the energy saving advantages it has will certainly draw public interest.

More Info.:

• http://online.diedrich.se/

Twice nominated “British Designer of the Year”, Hussein Chalayan is renowned for his innovative usage of material and propensity towards integrating them with new technologies. Is this the fashion of the future?

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Fashion can show the spirit of an entire era. From the XIX century until now, we have witnessed the transformation of fashion.  What was once a tailor is now considered a stylist: a person who interprets contemporary fashion into a full, modern outfit. Then there are a few stylists whose designer clothing become famous around the globe such as Coco Chanel, Christian Dior, Yves Saint Laurent, Thomas Burberry (inventor of the material that is water proof and doesn’t rip), and some of the most popular such as Mary Quant, the inventor of the mini skirt.

Now designer Hussein Chalayan is making a mark in the fashion world with his hi-tech collections, which have started the era known as “Animatronic Fashion.”  Chalayan has revealed his collections in popular museums such as the Tate Modern, the Victoria & Albert Museum, and the Kyoto Costume Institute. The creations of Chalayan reveal his inspiration tied to anthropology, history, science, philosophy, and technology. His models wear a special type of corset that is connected with cables that are able to morph the clothing. By pressing a button, a special mechanism can transform the clothes, making them look completely different than the initial form. The technology allows long dresses to shorten, tight ones to loosen, and open jackets to close.

Hussein Chalayans clothes have their own “soul” and a name: ‘Afterwords’. The concept is based on ‘wearing portable architecture’, and it demonstrates to us how furniture can transform itself into clothes; ‘Airborne’ uses LED technology to further beautify dresses completely covered by Swarovsky crystals; ‘Before Minus Now’ is a cloth that is made from the same material used to create airplanes – which changes form thanks to a control from a distance. ‘Readings’ was built with more than 200 lasers which generate a spectacular light show.

The “Animatronic Fashion” might seem far away, but many stylists have been inspired by Chalayans art and are working together so that this project can materialize into something epic.

More Info.:

• http://www.husseinchalayan.com/